Torn Realities
by Soul Vagabond
Summary: A CG project gone wrong. They thought that the data was lost after a powerful solar flare, but it wasn't that simple. How can Earth cope with a new threat?
1. Solar Flares

I've wanted to write something like this for the longest time. This is going to be a very lengthy project, so I'm sure I'm not going to finish until well into next year. Assuming that I do finish. I'm writing an original story, too. So I've decided to include some of the characters from that, as well. So this is going to be a mixture of Final Fantasy VII, IX, X, and my story, Shards of Our Souls.

Disclaimer: I am _not _going to write a disclaimer for every chapter, so listen up. The only things I own in this story are myself, Shards of Our Souls characters, and a few other original people. I wish I owned the Final Fantasy cast, but I don't. It's cool to write about them, though. 

Torn Realities

"The increased sun spot activities may cause large and very dangerous solar flares. It is advised that you find alternant transportation if you plan to travel by air within the next two weeks."

"What? Are the planes gonna drop out of the air or something?"

__

"Significant power outages may affect areas within the western hemisphere, including Eastern United States and several Hispanic countries. These include Venezuela, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina."

"Humph. What power do they have to lose, anyways?"

__

"And here's Bob with-"

Click.

__

"HEY!" I snapped my head around to find my mother pointing the remote at the TV, "What did you do that for?"

She dropped the remote on the coffee table and crossed her arms, a look of annoyance etched across her face, "I thought I told you it as time for bed."

"But-" I leaped from our overstuffed beige couch, "-I was doing something productive."

She frowned, "Productive?"

I ran through my mind several possible excuses, "I was expanding my knowledge of solar flares. We're going to be studying those in school, you know. I'd like to get a head start," I smiled a very big and cheesy smile.

__

She, apparently, was not impressed, "Bed. Now," She pointed to the doorway.

__

Defeated, I trekked across the living room, dragging my feet and taking as much time as possible, "Good night, mother," I said bitterly.

"Good night, Jennifer," She followed me past the small foyer and up the stairs, stopping at the doorway to her bedroom to watch me enter my own. She knew better than to turn her back on me. The minute she did, I would return to my favorite spot on the couch and either watch TV or play Final Fantasy. She has a real tough time keeping me in line. Someday, I knew, I would drive her mad.

Ticked off, I slammed my door behind be. I immediately crossed my room and drew back the tapestry concealing my huge closet. Since I kept my dresser in there, naturally that's where I would go to find my pajamas. 

After rummaging through several drawers, I finally found a cotton top and pants perfect for this rather chilly night. I pulled them on quickly and shuffled to my peculiar bed. It was a bunk bed, with the bottom portion being a futon and the top with a queen sized mattress. If you're wondering why it's so big, it's because my stupid father had 'some' extra wood left over from building our deck. With nothing better to do, he used it all to build this Wonder of the World. Don't snicker, though. He's a real artisan when it comes to wood. It actually looks like something a Guado would design. Like, instead of straight posts, they have elegant curves and grooves, to make it look like the bed itself is a part of the forest.

Thinking about this, my eyes wandered about the room. Everything looked as if it would be at home in some mythical village or another. My walls were painted in such a way that it actually looked as if my room was concealed in a mythical castle courtyard, with bluish bricks with silver sponged in some areas. Murals accented my walls, with ivy climbing up the 'bricks' and a tiny drake sitting on a 'branch' that seemed to protrude from the wall itself. Several pewter dragon candleholders were mounted around my room, the flickering of the flames casting shadows upon my shag rug, which served as the 'grass' for my courtyard. Up above, the midday sky brightened up my room. Against the light blue, though, the shadow of a large dragon passed overhead.

I smiled smugly. This was over a three-month project, and we finished putting the finishing touches on it last week. The only reason we did this was because my father got carried away with the bed, and when it was finished, it looked out of place. 

With a sigh, I clambered into the top bunk. Tomorrow was the last day of school before winter break. After I made myself comfortable, I began brainstorming ideas about how to raise havoc at school. Not against the teachers, mind you. Just that evil Krishna and her gang.

_"Damn," _I thought to myself, _"I wish I could do something to scar her for life…"_

With this last thought, I drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

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A short chapter, I know. I promise the next one will be longer. If you're wondering, the FF crew won't come into the picture until a little bit later. You will see Shards of Our Souls characters soon, though. 


	2. Cee Gee

I've decided on what I'm going to do. I'm going to write short chapters- two or three pages worth- so I can update quickly. In other words, I'm going to write it somewhat like a play, with the chapters like different acts. So they only focus on one event. Sound good?

I've also decided to make the FF characters appear in chapter four. I'll postpone the Shards of Our Souls characters until much later. It'll be the opposite from what I originally planed, but that's okay.

2

"JENNIFER!" I awoke with a start. My mother was banging on the door, apparently more irritated than she usually was. When I glanced at my alarm clock, I found out why.

"Crap!" I immediately flung the sheets off me and climbed down the ladder as fast as I could, for the clock read 7:20. I whipped back the tapestry concealing my closet and grabbed the first garments that I could get my fingers around. Thirty seconds later, I had changed into blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I rushed to the door and grabbed my Harley-Davison denim jacket. As I was trying to get my arm through the other sleeve, my mother snapped open the door.

"You're lucky we live so close to the school," She noted the alarm clock, which now read 7:22, "They will be here in about seven minutes, so hustle," She turned and walked away, leaving the door open. Which was fine by me, because I finally got my jacket on and I flew out of my room and across the hallway, literally skidding to a halt in front of the bathroom.

After spending only two minutes brushing my teeth, washing my face, and brushing my chocolate hair, I flew back out and down the stairs, and jogged to the dining room, where my mother was considerate enough to leave me a glass of orange juice. It only took me four swallows, but I felt like getting sick afterwards.

Three minutes later, I managed not to regurgitate and had my heavy leather jacket wrapped close to my body. I let out a sigh. I had a feeling I would be having a hectic day, I just didn't expect it to start so soon.

Not too long after I gathered myself when my friends rounded the corner. I saw that they were hunched over and walking quickly, so I knew that the temperature had fallen considerably from yesterday. I stepped outside, the cold, brisk November air greeting my exposed cheeks. I hurried after my friends, who had not bothered to stop in front of my house as they usually did. Not that I could blame them. It was just too damn cold out!

"Hey," I said to Kelly, with my own breath steaming up my glasses, "Have you any ideas for today?"

She shook her head, "No," She side glanced me, "But knowing Krishna, she probably won't be at school today."

I had to agree with that, "Yea. If she is, though, I want to be ready."

Sara, the taller one with short ginger hair, looked doubtful, "How can we be ready if we don't even have any ideas? I think we should let her slip by this time."

I grinded my teeth in aggravation, "But what about what she did to us last week?"

There was no reply. In fact, there was a long, awkward silence before anybody spoke again, "Should we talk to Cee Gee?" 

I eyed Kelly with curiosity, "Why him?"

She half grinned, "He's one of the best computer hackers out there."

I brightened up a bit, "What are you proposing?"

Kelly stayed silent just long enough to pass a large group of kids, "Krishna's a computer buff, too. I'm sure she has tons of valuable files stored on that machine of hers," We began crossing the school grounds, "If we can get Cee Gee's help, maybe we can erase all the data on her computer."

That sounded like a plan to me. As we finally came within earshot of other students, Sara and I merely nodded our approval.

Before we entered the building, Kelly whispered, "I can try to contact him after school,"

I smiled, "Cool."

The day was uneventful, except for when Nathan caught his sleeve on fire when he was trying to light the Bunsen burner in Physical Science class. Though I kept my eyes peeled during the day for any sign of that brat, she was not in the building. When Sara, Kelly, and I finally met up with each other at the end of the day, they too had nothing to report.

I closed my locker and turned to Kelly, swinging my backpack over my shoulder, "Do you know Cee Gee personally?"

She shrugged, "Not really. But he holds a serious grudge against Krishna, too."

Sara cocked her head to one side, "Really? What could she possibly do to him? I mean, he's twenty-five, right?"

"Just because they're not peers doesn't mean that they never met."

I crossed my arms, "Actually, the whole city seems to know Krishna."

"Can't argue that," Kelly pulled out something small from inside her jacket pocket, "I'm going to call him now, alright?"

Sara eyed the cell phone skeptically, "Shouldn't you wait until we're off school grounds?"

It was too late. Kelly had already dialed the number and was waiting for someone to pick up. Making a mental note to take that thing away from her before school started, I kept a lookout for any teachers.

"Hello? Cee Gee? Hey, It's Kelly from a few blocks down," Pause, "Yea. Well, Krishna really pushed us over the edge this time, and we thought that maybe you can help us hack into her computer," Really long pause, "Great! We'll be there soon, okay?" She hung up. Sara and I looked at her expectantly, and she smiled.

"When?" I took the cell phone away and stuffed it into my own pocket. 

Kelly sneered slightly at me before answering, "Any time."

Sara scanned the hallway, "The other students are clearing out. We should go too, before principal Whambo kicks our asses into detention."

We started to walk, "Whambo? Nice nickname," I thought for a minute, "Though I think that name suits him pretty well."

"It was just a spur of the moment thing," Sara said as we walked out into the fresh winter air, "Why don't we head on over to Cee Gee's place now?"

I stopped, "Where is it? I need to be home by five."

Kelly glanced in the general direction of my home, "You should be home by that time. He probably won't do anything until tomorrow, anyways."

"Okay," At that, we began to journey forth towards Cee Gee's lair.


	3. The Hacker

I thank Kitty-Kat chan for her reviews. It's coming along slowly, I know, but hang in there. I will start writing in the FF cast soon. There's this interesting story that my friend, Ninja Mage, has created. It's called Kingdom Hearts: The Final Destiny. It's under the Kingdom Hearts section. (Duh) 

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"Err." That was all I could say. Well, that's all you would say, too, if you saw this place. Let's just say… BIG. His home was not quite a mansion, but close to it.

"Where did he get this kind of money?" Sara inspected the sophisticated garden pattern.

"Parents, mostly. But he gets a lot of green from his profession, too."

I tore my eyes from the house, "What does he do? Besides hacking into systems, I mean."

"He's a CGI artist. He creates stuff and sells it off to big companies. Cool, huh?" Kelly approached the door, "That's how he earned his name," She found the doorbell and gave it a ring. 

Several seconds passed before a young, well-built man appeared in the doorway, "Kelly?" He brushed a few stray sandy hairs from his violently blue eyes, "Come in."

After climbing a flight of stairs and crossing two hallways, Cee Gee led us into a dark room with loud humming noises reverberating off the walls. When he flipped the light on, it took a second for my eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. When they did, though, I saw a large room crammed with computers, stacks of papers up to my knees, and gizmos that I couldn't name off the top of my head. Everything was crammed so closely together, that it reminded me of an office cubical in which a business executive was supposed to work. Not exactly a pleasant sight now, is it?

"This is where I work my magic," He stepped over a laptop and seated himself in front of one of his many computers, "Not much to look at, but it works."

_Not much to look at_. I had to hold back a smile. I thought this was the cleverest room I've ever set foot in, besides my own private chambers. There were motion capture devices in one corner, and sound equipment in another. Each computer screen showed different data, apparently from different projects. I felt a sudden urge to take some CG classes, myself.

Sara was also looking at the motion and sound equipment, "Where do you use these things? It's too cramped in here."

Cee Gee looked up from typing, "Right you are. I use the kitchen for most sound recordings, and the living room for the motion capture. Everything else I do right here."

"Interesting," I joined Kelly, who was standing behind Cee Gee, "I've heard that you hold a grudge against Krishna. What could she possibly do to you?"

He frowned, "Not right now."

I wanted to say something in response, but I held my tongue. I turned my head slightly so I could see Sara. She had just finished flipping through a book of complex equations and had tiptoed her way back over to us. 

She peered over his shoulder, trying to read the quick commands he was giving his computer, "How is this going to work?"

"As of this moment in time, that information is for only me to know," Cee Gee furrowed his brows in concentration.

Kelly leaned in and whispered in my ear, "He's not exactly the most cooperative person in the world, but don't let it get to you," She nodded at Sara, who had leaned in to hear, too.

"DAMN IT!!"

All three of us jumped. We snapped our heads back around towards the computer screen, which had gone blank.

"What happened?" Kelly was shaking slightly from the outburst.

"It just _died!_" He slammed his fist on the keyboard, "Damn it!"

I looked around, "Your other systems shut off, too."

Cee Gee leaned back in his chair, "I bet it was one of those blasted solar flares."

Sara raised an eyebrow, "Solar flares? They don't affect anything at ground level."

I tilted my head slightly, "Haven't you heard? It was all over the news."

"Humungous solar flares are supposed to hit the western hemisphere sometime this week. They said that the radiation would reach even the lowest valley," Cee Gee pushed the power button, but nothing happened, "It certainly reached my computer."

I looked around at the other systems, "Not just that one."

He stiffened slightly, "Don't tell me…" Without waiting for an answer, Cee Gee turned his head around. In my opinion, he looked as if he was about to cry. All of the systems in the room had died. He lowered his head into his hands, "My work…"

"Why didn't the lights go out? I mean, they run off of electricity, too," Sara stepped over to a computer and pressed the power button several times, "You would think that it would affect everything."

"I have several partners scattered throughout the states. Our computers are part of a private network. This way, we can constantly send information back and forward,"

I raised an eyebrow, "So?"

He sighed, "If one system goes down, they all go down."

"I thought you worked by yourself," For some reason, I felt a bit suspicious. I wasn't sure why, though.

"You didn't actually think I could do all this work by myself, did you?" He sneered at the blank screen, "I usually end up doing all the work, though. The lazy SoBs."

"Sorry to hear that." 

Kelly hung her head, "Guess we can't terrorize Krishna today…"

Cee Gee didn't seem to hear her. He had gotten up and started messing with the machines. Every now and then I caught him say something like, "We've never should have done this," or "My work…" I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.

Sara sat down on a large stack of books, "So what were you working on?"

Cee Gee turned around, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but…" He grabbed a nearby swivel chair and sat back in it, "We were sort of recreating Final Fantasy X."

"Is this for SquareEnix?" Kelly was leaning up against the doorframe.

He shook his head, "No. This was purely for our entertainment," He scanned our attentive faces, "It's a crossover between mainly seven and ten. But there's a little bit of nine tucked in there, too. It's really interesting," His face fell, "I should say 'was' interesting."

I was determined to lighten things up, "Maybe the data wasn't lost. You won't know until the system's back up. So there's still hope."

He grinned slightly, "Maybe." 

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*Sigh* I have so many ideas for this story, but they all go in different directions. I guess I'll post again once I get it straightened out.


End file.
